When the Accused Is Under 18: Juveniles and Domestic Violence Allegations in Michigan

In Michigan, a person under 18 who is accused of assaulting a parent, a sibling or a dating partner is not prosecuted in the adult criminal courts in the ordinary case. The family division of circuit court has exclusive original jurisdiction over a juvenile under 18 who is alleged to have violated a state law or local ordinance.^[2] The proceedings there are, except as the Juvenile Code otherwise provides, not criminal proceedings.^[1]

If anyone in the home is in danger, call 911. The National Domestic Violence Hotline is free, confidential and open 24/7: call 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or text START to 88788.^[6] Michigan's statewide VOICES4 hotline takes calls and texts at 855-864-2374.^[7][8]

This page covers which court hears the case, the informal and formal tracks, the right to a lawyer, possible outcomes, restitution, and personal protection orders involving minors. It notes plainly where this library has not verified a point.

Which court handles the case?

The age line moved on October 1, 2021. Until September 30, 2021, "juvenile" meant a person under 17 who was the subject of a delinquency petition; beginning October 1, 2021, it means a person under 18.^[1] The change is often called "Raise the Age."

Situation	What the statute says
Under 18, accused of violating a law or ordinance	The family division of circuit court has exclusive original jurisdiction, superior to and regardless of the jurisdiction of another court.[2]
Charged in adult court, then found to have been under 18 at the time of an offense on or after October 1, 2021	The other court must transfer the case without delay to the family division.[3]
Turns 18 after the petition is filed	The family division's jurisdiction continues beyond the eighteenth birthday, and it may hear and dispose of the petition.[9]
14 or older, accused of an act that would be a felony for an adult	The family division judge may waive jurisdiction on the prosecuting attorney's motion, after which the juvenile may be tried in the court of general criminal jurisdiction.[10]

Conduct that would be domestic assault for an adult is a violation of state law, which is what brings a juvenile within the family division's jurisdiction.^[2] The Crime Victim's Rights Act's juvenile article expressly lists a violation of MCL 750.81, "assault and battery, including domestic violence," and of MCL 750.81a among the offenses it covers.^[11] What makes an assault "domestic" is the relationship, explained in who is covered by a domestic relationship and, for teenagers who are dating, the dating relationship definition.

How does a juvenile case start?

Only the prosecuting attorney may file a petition asking the court to take jurisdiction of a juvenile for a law violation. If the prosecutor submits one and the court determines that formal jurisdiction should be acquired, the court authorizes the petition to be filed.^[9] The petition has to be verified and has to set out the juvenile's name, birth date and address, and the names and addresses of the parents, any legal guardian, and each person having custody or control of the juvenile.^[9]

As in adult cases, the complaining family member does not control whether a petition is filed. A parent who called the police during a crisis and later wants the matter closed can tell the prosecutor so, but the filing decision belongs to the prosecutor.^[9]

The informal track: the consent calendar

Michigan law allows a juvenile case to be handled informally. If the court determines that formal jurisdiction should not be acquired, it may proceed on what the statute calls a consent calendar.^[5] A case may not be placed there unless all of the following apply:^[5]

• The juvenile, the parent, guardian or legal custodian, and the prosecutor agree.^[5]
• The court considers the results of a risk screening tool and a mental health screening tool.^[5]
• The court determines that the case should proceed on the consent calendar.^[5]

The court may also transfer a case from the formal calendar to the consent calendar at any time before disposition.^[5] Because domestic assault is an offense covered by the juvenile article of the Crime Victim's Rights Act, placement on the consent calendar is allowed only upon compliance with that Act's procedures, and the prosecutor must give the victim the notice the Act requires.^[11]

What the consent calendar involves

The court holds a conference and, if it appears the juvenile engaged in the conduct, issues a written case plan.^[12] Under the statute:

• The plan must include restitution, and the court may not order the juvenile or the parent to pay fees or costs associated with consent calendar services.^[12]
• The plan may not remove the juvenile from the custody of the parent, guardian or legal custodian.^[12]
• The period to complete the plan must not exceed 6 months unless the court determines a longer period is needed to complete a specific treatment program.^[12]
• The court does not enter an order of disposition while the case is on the consent calendar.^[12]
• Statements the juvenile makes during the consent calendar proceeding may not be used against the juvenile at a trial on the formal calendar on the same charge.^[12]

On successful completion, the court must close the case and destroy the records of the proceeding under State Court Administrative Office policies. The court reports the completion to the Department of State Police, which keeps a nonpublic record open to courts, the Department of Corrections, law enforcement and prosecutors for use in the performance of their duties.^[12] If it appears that the consent calendar is not in the best interest of the juvenile or the public, the case can be returned to the formal calendar.^[12]

The formal track

On the formal calendar the court decides whether the juvenile comes within its jurisdiction. Hearings other than criminal hearings may be conducted in an informal manner, and a person interested in the hearing may demand a jury of 6.^[13]

If the court finds the juvenile is not within the Juvenile Code, it must dismiss the petition. If it finds that the juvenile is, the statute directs the court to return the juvenile to the parent if that would not cause a substantial risk of harm to the juvenile or society, and it allows the court to enter orders of disposition that are appropriate for the welfare of the juvenile and society.^[14] Those include:

• warning the juvenile or the parents and dismissing the petition;^[14]
• probation, or supervision in the juvenile's own home or a relative's home, with terms that can include reasonable rules for the conduct of the parents;^[14]
• placement in a suitable foster care home under the court's supervision;^[14]
• placement in or commitment to a private or public institution or agency;^[14]
• community service.^[14]

In juvenile cases the prosecutor may move that the juvenile be detained in a juvenile facility on credible evidence of acts or threats of physical violence or intimidation against the victim or the victim's immediate family.^[15][16] The detailed court rules on juvenile detention, release conditions and the standard of proof at the hearing have not been verified for this library and are not described here.

Does the juvenile get a lawyer?

Yes. In a delinquency proceeding the court must advise the child of the right to an attorney at each stage of the proceeding.^[4] The court must appoint an attorney if one or more of these apply:^[4]

• the child's parent refuses or fails to appear and participate;^[4]
• the child's parent is the complainant or victim;^[4]
• the child and those responsible for the child's support are financially unable to employ an attorney, and the child does not waive the right;^[4]
• those responsible for the child's support refuse or neglect to employ an attorney, and the child does not waive the right;^[4]
• the court determines that the best interests of the child or the public require appointment.^[4]

A child's waiver of counsel has to be made in open court, on the record, and the court has to find that it was voluntarily and understandingly made. The child may not waive the right if the parent or guardian ad litem objects.^[4] The adult rules are in your right to a lawyer.

When can a juvenile be tried as an adult?

Only for conduct that would be a felony, and only in limited ways. Under the traditional waiver statute, a juvenile 14 or older accused of an act that would be a felony if committed by an adult may be tried in adult court if the family division judge waives jurisdiction on the prosecutor's motion.^[10] Before waiving, the court must find probable cause on the record and then hold a hearing on whether waiver serves the best interests of the juvenile and the public, giving greater weight to the seriousness of the alleged offense and the juvenile's prior record of delinquency than to the other criteria.^[10]

Prosecutors may also charge a juvenile 14 or older in adult court for a "specified juvenile violation."^[17][18] The statutory list does not name MCL 750.81 or 750.81a, and it names MCL 750.84 only where the juvenile is armed with a dangerous weapon; it also reaches a lesser included offense of, or another violation arising out of the same transaction as, a listed violation that is charged.^[18] A first-offense domestic assault is a misdemeanor, so the waiver statute, which is limited to acts that would be felonies, does not reach it.^[19][10] Felony-level allegations, such as assault by strangulation or felonious assault, are where the question can arise.

Rights of the family member who was harmed

The Crime Victim's Rights Act has a separate article for juvenile cases.^[20] If the juvenile has been placed in a juvenile facility, then not later than 48 hours after the preliminary hearing the prosecutor (or the court, by agreement) must give the victim the facility's telephone number and notice that the victim may contact the facility to find out whether the juvenile has been released.^[16] The court must provide a separate waiting area if available and practical, or other safeguards to minimize contact.^[21]

At disposition the court must order the juvenile to make full restitution to any victim of the juvenile's course of conduct.^[22] If the juvenile cannot pay, a parent with supervisory responsibility at the time may be ordered to pay the outstanding portion after notice and an opportunity to be heard; the court must take the parent's financial resources into account, and "parent" does not include a foster parent.^[22] See restitution in domestic violence cases and crime victims' rights in Michigan.

Personal protection orders and minors

Three rules shape PPOs when one side is under 18:

• A court may not issue a PPO if the respondent is the unemancipated minor child of the petitioner, or if the petitioner is the unemancipated minor child of the respondent.^[23]
• A PPO may not be issued against a child under 10.^[24]
• If the respondent is under 18, issuance of the PPO is subject to the Juvenile Code, and proceedings to enforce a minor PPO while the respondent is under 18 are governed by the juvenile court rules.^[25]

So a parent cannot obtain a PPO against his or her own unemancipated minor child, but another person can petition for one against a respondent aged 10 to 17, and a petitioner who is a minor proceeds through an adult next friend.^[23][25][26] No jury may be demanded on a petition alleging that a minor violated a PPO.^[13]

On penalties for violating a PPO, Michigan's statutes do not line up for 17-year-olds: the PPO statute applies adult criminal contempt at 17, while the arrest statute and the enforcement court rule draw the line at 18.^[27] That conflict is in the statutes themselves, and how it applies to a particular 17-year-old is a question for an attorney. More is in PPOs involving minors and PPO violation penalties.

What people get wrong

"Seventeen-year-olds are adults in Michigan criminal court." That was the rule for offenses before October 1, 2021. For offenses on or after that date the line is 18.^[1][3]

"It is a family matter, so the parent decides." Only the prosecutor files the petition.^[9] The parent's agreement is one of the conditions for the consent calendar, not a power to end the case.^[5]

"A juvenile case is just a smaller criminal case." The Juvenile Code says its proceedings are not criminal proceedings, and it is to be applied so that each juvenile receives care, guidance and control, preferably in his or her own home.^[1]

"The youthful trainee program is the juvenile option." The Holmes Youthful Trainee Act applies to offenses committed on or after the 18th birthday and before the 26th, so it is an adult-court program.^[28] See HYTA and domestic violence.

This library has not verified the rules on juvenile records, setting aside a juvenile adjudication, or diversion before a petition is filed, and does not describe them. For the family's side of an arrest, see when a family member is arrested for domestic violence.